His Brother's Keeper
by Shini02
Summary: 2007 movieverse. Oneshot. After Leo's return, Mikey's determined not to lose him again. MikeyxLeo.


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but this fic.

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**His Brother's Keeper**

Mikey falls of the couch, the surprise of Leo's return catching him completely off guard. Once he's on his feet again, he stumbles over the footstools and, when he reaches his older brother, wraps his arms around him. Leo is taken aback by Mikey's childishness, having not been hugged like this by his youngest brother since they were much younger. He assures Mikey he's not dreaming, that this is real and he's not going anywhere. But still, Mikey holds him, suddenly squeezing tighter and nuzzling his cheek against Leo's ribcage.

"I've had nightmares about birthday parties," is a lame excuse to keep Leo in place, even after he's promised not to leave again, but it's all Mikey can come up with. Leo puts a hand on his head, running his palm gently over his head, the way he used to when Mikey needed reassurance when they were kids. Mikey closes his eyes, listens to Leo's heartbeat and sighs softly.

He had missed Leo more than he thought. And the pounding in his ear tells him what Leo won't say aloud (not in front of Raphael): that he missed him, too.

"Birthday parties, huh?" Leo inquires, deciding to humor his little brother. It's the very least he can do after being gone for so long. "April told me about that," he's amused, smirking.

"Yeah," Mikey murmurs, barely noticing the way Donnie slowly creeps out of the room, or the way Raph glares at him and Leo – especially Leo – before he heads off to do whatever it is he does alone in his room when he's in a mood.

Leo clears his throat. "You can let me go now, Mike."

Yeah, Mikey thinks, I could. But, even with his brother's promise, he's afraid to let Leo go, afraid he'll loose his brother again if he releases him from the safe prison of his arms.

"Mikey?" Calloused hands are on his shoulders, gently pushing, urging him to let go. Mikey only holds on tighter. Leo wrinkles his brow, craning his neck to get a little closer to Mikey. "You alright?"

"M'fine," Mikey replies, muffling his voice against Leo's chest, pressing his lips gently to a pectoral. "Jus' missed you, s'all."

Leo smiles gently and sighs, chest heaving against Mikey's face. "I missed you, too," he admits, certain they're completely alone now. "I missed all of you."

"This place was, like, dead without you, Leo," Mikey says quietly. Now they're moving, slowly sinking to the floor, and Mikey's suddenly caught between Leo's legs and his head his forced up against Leo's collarbone. He doesn't care, as long as he can hold his brother.

"So I heard," Leo mumbles, using one hand to keep his balance, letting the other wander over Mikey's shell. He feels old scars from previous battles and training sessions on the large scales, but he also feels new ones. Ones that go deeper than the others, even the ones inflicted by the Foot. Leo knows the cause: excessive training, unchecked tempers and the confusion that came with being without their leader, their eldest brother.

Leo wonders if Raph and Donnie have new scars on their shells that won't shed away with the dead skin that's always being pealed away by natural forces. He wants to ask how the scars were inflicted, wants to know if they still hurt now and then, but he doesn't. He has no right to know, and even as he's simply caressing the odd crack in Mikey's shell he feels as though he's trespassing on something very private.

Leo jerks his hand away from Mikey's shell, settles for placing it on his hip and again he starts to push gently. "Mikey, let me go," he chuckles hollowly.

"No way, man," Mikey mumbles, shivering as Leo's fingers accidentally wander over a sensitive place just below his hip.

"Come on," Leo insists.

Mikey pushes forward, knocks Leo onto his back and suddenly has his brother pinned in the most awkward position. Their legs are tangled and Mikey's arms are still tight around Leo's torso; one of Leo's arms are loose, left to lay limp at his side, while the other – somehow or another – wound up stuck between the two brothers.

"Mike, seriously. Let me go – I'm not playing games."

"Neither am I, bro."

Then the only thing Mikey can hear is Leo's heartbeat again. Slowly, he looks up at his oldest brother and those bright blue eyes are pleading with Leo. "If I letcha go, you're just gonna go meditate or somethin'," he mumbles, resting his chin against Leo's chest now. "And I don't want that. I wanna _be_ with you right now, dude." A pause, a sigh, then, "don'tcha get it? That's how these reunion things work, right?"

Leo hesitates, opens his mouth to speak and then closes it. He doesn't feel much like smiling, but there it is, a big smile on his lips just for Mikey. "You're right," he admits to being wrong, something Mikey isn't quite used to, but it's nothing worth losing any sleep over. Still smiling, he uses his free hand to push at Mikey's shoulders once more, "let go –"

"But!"

"– and go get the others. We're going out," Leo says and that's all it takes to get Mikey on his feet, beaming as he helps Leo up. He asks no questions as to what Leo has planned, he's simply happy to have Leo being his big brother again, telling him what to do.

-End


End file.
